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estate tax return by turning the matter over to his attorney.
Id. As the Court held:
It requires no special training or effort to ascertain
a deadline and make sure that it is met. The failure
to make a timely filing of a tax return is not excused
by the taxpayer's reliance on an agent, and such
reliance is not "reasonable cause" for a late filing
under section 6651(a)(1). * * *
Id. at 252.
Here, the estate argues that the executrix failed to file
the estate tax return timely because she reasonably relied on the
advice of an attorney and a CPA and that, as a matter of law, the
return could not be filed until a determination was made as to
all assets of decedent's estate. However, the estate failed to
establish that the executrix received any advice from Mr. Ellis
or Mr. McCoy about delaying the filing of the estate tax return,
either prior or subsequent to the due date for such return.5
5 The estate argues that the executrix also received and
relied upon similar advice from her daughter, Christina M. Thomas
(Tina Thomas), who is an attorney. However, Tina Thomas did not
become licensed to practice law until July 1986, 5 months after
the death of decedent and 4 months prior to the due date of the
estate tax return. Moreover, Tina Thomas's area of legal
specialty is energy law rather than decedents' estates or Federal
tax law. During law school, Tina Thomas did take a class in
Federal income tax law but did not take a class in Federal estate
and gift tax law. The Court finds that, during the years in
question, Tina Thomas was not a professional in the area of
Federal estate tax law upon whose advice regarding such matters
the executrix could have reasonably relied. See, e.g., Sanders
(continued...)
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